Artist: The Rumble Strips
Title: Welcome To The Walk Alone
Label: All I Do + Island
Genre: Indie
Bitrate: 171kbit av.
Time: 00:31:29
Size: 40.81 mb
Rip Date: 2009-06-03
Str Date: 2009-07-13
01. Welcome To The Walk Alone 2:44
02. London 3:10
03. Not The Only Person 2:21
04. Daniel 2:58
05. Douglas 2:38
06. Back Bone 3:11
07. Sweet Heart Hooligan 1:53
08. Running On Empty 2:27
09. Dem Girls 2:55
10. Raindrops 3:49
11. Happy Hell 3:23
Release Notes:
The Rumble Strips release their second album 'Welcome to The Walk
Alone' on July 13th, through Island Records. Produced by Mark Ronson,
'Welcome to The Walk Alone' is the extraordinary follow up to the
band's critically acclaimed 2007 debut, 'Girls and Weather'. Having
recruiting life-long friend Sam Mansbridge as their permanent bass
player, The Rumble Strips has swelled to a five piece.
Recalling the widescreen sounds of Phil Spector and Scott Walker,
coupled with 1940's wartime melodies and early 1960s European soul (Sam
also brought a love of French chanson music, introducing the band to
Jacques Brel and Charles Asnavor), 'Welcome to The Walk Alone' is a
timeless record that sounds like nothing else released this year.
Their sophomore effort reflects how the band's song writing process has
changed. Principally written on piano and guitar, this change in style
has resulted in the new record featuring a lot more piano and electric
guitar than on their debut, plus the addition of full orchestration.
The expansive sound of the arrangements is equalled only by lead singer
Charlie Waller's voice, which more than any other instrument defines
this record and confirms his status as one of the best male vocalists
in British music in 2009.
Recruiting Owen Pallet - famed for his work with Arcade Fire and The
Last Shadow Puppets - to orchestrate the album has proved a
masterstroke. Pallet's interpretations of the band's arrangements lift
The Rumble Strips' distinctive sound to new levels, adding a sense of
golden-era grandeur, refined by Ronson's production.
First single, Not The Only Person, is a Queen meets Elvis Costello
revelation. Backed by huge orchestration, the song's summery vibes mask
some of Charlie's finest lyrics to date. You'd be forgiven for
presuming lines such as 'you're not only person to get it wrong / it's
all right' are aimed at a loved one, whereas actually the song is
Charlie's apology to two muggers who attacked him and his wife. The
assault failed when Mrs Waller chased the startled muggers away and the
song is Charlie's (perhaps empathetic) apology to them for messing with
his wife, concluding with him offering to 'come back tomorrow night
alone /and you can take anything that you want'.
Daniel epitomises the grand scale of the band's ambition. In three
minutes, they've crafted an epic pop-noir song, centred around sweeping
strings and the addictive refrain of the title.
With its rousing brass and stampeding drums, London is the song closest
to anything off their debut, whereas the rest of the album reveals
greater depth and new directions in the band's song writing. Happy Hell
is built around Ennio Morricone-eqsue guitar lines whilst Sweet Heart
Hooligan is a beautiful end of the night moment. Perhaps the album's
key track is the title song: described by Mark Ronson as 'his proudest
achievement', Welcome to The Walk Alone opens like a woozy funeral
march and captures the sound of a band hitting their stride.